Colombia gives police greater power to break up street protests
- Colombia’s government changed police protest guidelines, giving officers more discretion during demonstrations involving property damage or blocked access to essential services.
- Activists and opposition politicians criticized the changes, warning that broad interpretations could lead to increased police violence.
- President Abelardo de la Espriella said peaceful protests would remain protected and that police would not obstruct peaceful marches.
- The new protocols classify vandalism as aggression and require “humanitarian corridors,” replacing earlier rules that prioritized dialogue before using force.
45 Articles
45 Articles
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Thousands of people demonstrated on Wednesday in Bogota against the policies of President Abelardo de la Espriella. The president, in power since August, has aligned himself with Washington and wants to dismantle the reforms of his predecessor, recalls Pascale Mariani, correspondent of France 24 in Bogota. The atmosphere is tense, the president has signed a decree to modify the protocol of intervention of the police during the demonstrations.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella signed a presidential decree that transforms the response of the authorities to social demonstrations.
The president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella , has approved a decree that tightens the protocols of action of the security forces during the protests, a measure that will be in force in the mobilizations and strikes called for this same Wednesday against the authorities of the South American country. «I kept my word and here is the decree. In Colombia, peaceful protest is respected, but violence, vandalism and blockades that trample the r…
The president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, signed on the evening of Tuesday a decree that modifies the response of the authorities to the demonstrations, on the eve of marches called by the opposition. Trade unions, students and indigenous people will manifest on Wednesday in the main cities against the economic, social and public policy of the new government, which promotes measures considered hard-line.
The law allows law enforcement to intervene if at the beginning of the demonstration there is violence with the use of weapons, incendiary devices, assaults or retention of persons
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